Hi all,

I hope the month has been kind to you all. I managed to get into the studio with Mr Keyes to lay down two tracks for possible inclusion on a new 'Duets' album. I have just submitted them to the big wigs at EMI so it is now just a case of waiting to hear the verdict. I am thrilled with how they have come out and hope they like it as much as me. One has been done in unison and one in harmony.

When I recorded 'Matt Sings Monro' all those years ago, I was pretty green behind the ears technically and the whole album was recorded in unison so it would be great to experiment a little bit this time.

The tracks selected were 'What a Wonderful World' and 'Yesterday When I Was Young. We had hoped to include 'This is the Life' but we requested the multi track from Capitol in America nearly two months ago and are still waiting for them to send it. You wouldnít think EMI and Capitol are one and the same company. I know Michele and Richard unearthed some very rare recordings of my father early this year and requested the items from the archives to listen to. The one track hails from Capitol and they are still waiting - they requested it in February!!!

Donít forget to keep your suggestions coming in to the Forum and say why you think it would make a great choice. If we get the go ahead it will need to be put to bed by yearís end before I go to Australia and I still have to select another twelve odd tracks.

For members of 'Friends of Matt Monro' we will be offering another exclusive deal this year on the tour. Last year the backstage pass was so successful that we have decided to run it again and Michele will start to take bookings in October.

I know a lot of you have been waiting for my tour dates for the year. The promoter has now confirmed the dates (see dates page) but there are still more to come so check back next month to see new additions.

As I mentioned last month there will not be a Fans Reunited this year as there is simply no time. Michele and Richard have to finish the book by the end of the year and there are several other projects on the table, which take priority, one being my new DVD, which I am very excited about.

Michele organized for five or six shows to be taped last year. Because of the car crash she was unable to be there herself so only saw the first rushes at the beginning of the year. She doesnít think the sound is good enough for a concert not because it is bad, but it was not filmed using the highest quality sound equipment and she thinks we can do better. There was also the question of camera angles and one camera was placed slightly too far away from the action. This was a major oversight on the part of the film company but instead of scraping everything we decided we could do something else. That is when the idea of a Backstage Pass came in. Michele and I received a lot of feed back last year because of the exclusive offer we did for Friends of Matt Monro. Those people were invited to attend a rehearsal and then meet up with Matt privately before the show for drinks and they all liked it. So much in fact that it was decide to give this sort of insight to everybody.

Most DVD's are between fifty and sixty minutes long but Michele being Michele convinced me that it should offer value for money and so there is nearly two hours with the loaded extras. We often feel cheated when buying a music or documentary DVD but not with 'Backstage Pass

The main film is over ninety minutes long and we have included a few full performances and the extras include four trailers and highlights of my Filipino Tour amongst others. This is an exciting project for me and I am looking forward to seeing the results of a year on the road.

As I really wanted to film a concert in the first place, it has been decided to film the shows in the Philippines, which will give everybody a chance to see me working on the other side of the world.

Once we have received the final draft and waded through it and edited any small oversights, Michele is going to design the artwork and then we will be ready to push the ëprintí button.

Until July, keep the music playing.